The Butterfly Ring
by grottofied
Summary: Float, Butterfly, float. She leaves a mark every time she fights. In flesh. In blood. Can Itachi stop her in the fights that he's terrified of, knowing that they amount only pain and suffering? And can she let him fly again?
1. The Butterfly Child

Chapter 1

Itachi Uchiha was always punctual. He locked the door of his apartment and started to walk down the steps, checking his watch to see if he was on time. Thinking about the material he would give his students today and ignoring the singing of birds in the fall air, he quickened his steps slightly, not wanting to be late on the first day of school. He was just about to check his watch again, obsessively, when he heard a door slam behind him, effectively silencing the birds, and turned around to see a girl locking her door. When they faced each other, Itachi's coal black eyes widened imperceptibly and their gaze locked.

She looked like a goddess. Her blond hair tumbled in the wind, tousled almost elegantly. Sea-green eyes regarded him coolly, as if she were analyzing him. Itachi felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on him.

When he didn't move from the stairs, she made a sound of disgust and vaulted the railing. Landing with her knees bent, she immediately and professionally dropped into a roll, turning the energy from the jump that should have broken both her knees, into kinetic energy. Seamlessly connecting the roll into a slow jog, she quickly disappeared around the corner, finally breaking the spell she had over Itachi.

_She had a bag on_, he thought to himself, starting to descend the steps again, _but no uniform, just leggings and a shirt. Is she a student?_ He thought about it but shook his head. Deciding he had spent enough time thinking about the mysterious girl who lived next to him, he filed away the thought in his head and continued on his walk to Koroki High School.

"Welcome, students," Itachi said to his homeroom, "Most of you are aware that this is your junior year and also your most important year. I encourage you all to do your best. I will be your homeroom teacher as well as your English teacher. For those who have the highest-level math, which is Level 4, I will also be your teacher. For those who are in the ensemble, Violin Lesson," he smiled, "I will see you again." He heard twitters from the girls and nods of acceptance from the boys. It was common knowledge that he was the most well-liked and 'coolest' teacher in the entire school. "Are there any questions?" Immediately, most of the girls' hands shot up. He gestured to a girl sitting in the front row.

"Itachi-sensei, do you have a girlfriend?" Three-fourths of the remaining hands went down, signaling that his had been the prevalent question, at least for the girls. He sighed internally, but smiled.

"No, I don't. Most ladies my age don't like the fact that I devote more of my time to my students that I do to them." The class laughed at this remark, further strengthening their approval for their teacher. He chose another girl, sitting towards the middle.

"Sensei, how old are you?"

"I'm 26." The rest of the hands dropped, except one. "Yes?"

"Are the glasses you wear real?" Itachi smiled again, much like the first time, indifferently.

"No, I don't need them. But they match the teacher image, yes?" The girls blushed at this smile. At this point, they would have blushed at a frown. "Alright, if those are all the questions, please go to your next class. If you have Level 4 math, please stay here." Most of the students filed out of the classroom, occasional whispers of 'he's so hot' floating above clusters of girls. After more students had walked in, he shut the door and turned to his small class. "Who here is a senior?" Every student except one raised his or her hand. He began to pass out a diagnostic test. When he got to the student who didn't raise her hand, he studied her while he handed her the test. Her blond hair was pulled into a braid and the dark brown frame of her glasses contrasted with her pale skin. Noticing that she didn't look up, he crouched so that his face was level with hers. "What's your name?"

It took all the composure that he had to stop all signs of shock from flooding to his face as he came face to face with the girl from earlier in the morning. He thought she was going to scowl but she smiled sweetly instead.

"My name is Choko," she replied, not recognizing or choosing not to recognize him.

"**Like chocolate?**" he asked in English. She smiled as stunningly as the first time, this time a little wider.

"No." She wrote out the kanji of her name on the top of her test paper. "Like this."

"The Butterfly Child. What an interesting character combination. Are you in my homeroom, Choko?"

"Yes, Sensei."

"I heard you requested to be moved up to this class."

"I did." He tapped the paper on her desk.

"I want you to fill out this test as honestly as you can. We have to check if this class is right for you."

"Yes, Sensei."

"Do I have any other classes with you?"

"It seems like I have both English and Violin Lesson with you." His eyebrows shot up.

"You have to be very proficient to get into Violin Lesson. Do you play the violin well?" She shrugged, looking at her elegant fingers.

"Well enough. But I need a new violin."

"Since this is a private school, we provide you with one, so don't worry." He chuckled at the dubious look on her face. "I promise it's a decent one. We go through a huge selection of violins to find the right on for you." Although she had scowled at him before, Itachi already felt at ease with her. He checked his watch and stood up. "I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time. You can have extra time if you need."

"It's fine."

"Since we have three classes together, I'm sure I'll get to know you very well." She simply smiled in response.

Even though she had been given the least time, she still finished first.

"I'll see you fourth hour for English," Itachi said, handing her the homework when she placed the test on his desk. Once again, she simply smiled. After she left, he started to grade her test.

"Perfect score, huh?" he mumbled under his breath. Taking off his glasses, he ran a hand through his black hair, tightening his ponytail. Then, he sighed and started to grade the other tests. He wished fourth hour would arrive.

Eventually, the bell for fourth hour rang and his third English class of the morning walked in. After going through the basic introduction, in English of course, he passed out another diagnostic.

"**Choko, can you stay after class when you're finished with you're test?**" She looked up from her diagnostic. "I want to speak to you about you test scores when I finish grading your English diagnostic," he said, reverting back to Japanese.

"**Okay**," she replied in English, the word sweet in her mouth. Sure enough, she handed in her test first and sat back down in her seat.

_Perfect score again_, he thought, briefly glancing at the gorgeous and demure girl sitting quietly by the window near the back.

When the room had cleared out, he sat in a seat in front of her.

"Choko, am I taking away from your lunch?"

"It's fine, Sensei, I didn't pay for a meal plan."

"You don't eat lunch?"

"I'm usually not hungry at this time." He studied her for a second and shrugged, rolling up his sleeves.

"Choko, I graded your exam and found out you got a perfect score in both of them."

"It was an easy test."

"Granted, but you didn't make one error, mathematical or grammatical. That, and you finished twice as fast as everyone else did."

"What did others' get?"

"90's and a couple of 95's."

"It was an easy test," she repeated, her strawberry-pale lips curving up in her sweet smile. He stood up.

"If you want any extra work, just ask."

"Can I have some extra work now?" Itachi's eyebrows shot up.

"That's the first time I heard a student say that."

"I… I really want to go to a good college and get a good job."

"So you can earn a lot of money?"

"So I can be recognized," she replied firmly, "although the money would be nice, I guess."

"Why do you want to be recognized so much?" She opened her mouth but clicked it shut immediately.

"Personal reasons."

"I won't pry." He walked to the front of the room and extracted a couple of books. "Do one chapter every 2 weeks from these two books. I'll check once you're done." He thought she was going to complain about the load of work, so he was surprised when she stood up, clutching the books tightly to her chest, determination shining in her eyes.

"Thank you, Sensei." Smiling her stunning smile one more time, she walked out of the room.

The room filled with the clear notes of two violins being tuned. One male and one female student, both of them tuning their violins, looked furtively at Choko, the only student to have ever gotten into Violin Lesson without her own violin. Choko, in turn, looked hungrily at their instruments, her face showing the longing she felt to hold one in her hands.

"Okay, class." Itachi walked in and shut the door, "Get to know each other very well, because the people in this room are going to be your friends and competitors for the rest of the year. You may introduce yourselves." After a brief silence, a brown-haired girl with blond highlights tossed her head impudently.

"My name is Kimi. I'm a junior and have been a straight-A student. I'm in seven clubs and the captain for the girls' soccer team. I've been playing violin for 10 years." Her brown eyes narrowed at the others, especially Choko, daring them to match her expertise.

"My name is Seiji." He yawned, leaning back and using the bow to scratch his spiky red hair. "I've been playing violin for 5 years."

"My name is Choko. I've been playing violin for 2 years." Kimi snorted in derision while Seiji merely yawned again.

"Sensei!" Kimi cried, whirling on Itachi, "isn't 2 years too little experience to get into Violin Lesson?"

"I didn't get in, I just asked to be in it." The brunette glared at the calm blonde.

"You're going way over you head in this. Violin Lesson isn't just some fun band. It's the number one violin ensemble in northern Japan!" Choko smiled slightly.

"Well, it sounded like fun, so I asked to be put it."

"You overconfident, little b—"

"_Enough_, Kimi." She fell silent, scowling. "Choko's the only one who doesn't have a violin. We're going to go buy one for her. You two, practice your scales. Your fingers better be flying when I come back." She had to run to keep up with Itachi's long strides.

"Sensei, why are you so angry?" The curious voice that floated over his shoulder made him slow down a little bit.

"She's your classmate, she should treat you better." He glanced back and just caught the lonely expression that passed over Choko's face.

"Well, the world isn't always kind and nice." Itachi smiled ruefully.

"I guess you're right. Anyway, that girl is annoying beyond her good."

The street was not as busy as it would have been if school had been out. They walked in silence, the occasional crunching of a leaf and conversation of people passing by punctuating the fall air.

"Sensei?"

"Hm?" She trotted so that she was in front of him walking backwards.

"Can… can I have any violin I want?"

"Any violin that's within school budget."

"What's the budget?" she asked breathlessly.

"$300." Her face fell instantly.

"Oh… Does the violin belong to me?"

"No, to the school." No student's face of disappointment had affected him this much before. "I'm sure if you play very well, the principal could be convinced to give you a better violin." She smiled sweetly, if not a little sadly, and resumed walking next to him. "How come you don't have a violin of your own?"

"Ah… Money is a little tight in my family right now." He did not say anything, having gone through many conversations like this to know enough to keep his mouth closed.

"**Welcome, welcome!**" the shop-owner said cheerfully in English, "**And aren't you a pretty young thing?**" Choko's mouth curved up at the shopkeeper's enthusiasm. "**So, are you here with your boyfriend?**" she whispered, gesturing to Itachi, who was already looking at some of the cheaper violins.

"**No, ma'am, that's my teacher.** And I can speak Japanese, although I am grateful for your consideration."

"Bi-lingual, eh? Smart, pretty, young girl. What can I get you, honey?"

"I'm looking for a violin, ma'am."

"Hmmm… I think I have the perfect one for you!" She went over to a case along the far wall, as if she had memorized the positions of all the instruments.

"How about this one?" After gliding her hands over the smooth wood, Choko tucked the violin under her chin and started to play.

Itachi turned around when he heard what felt like the ebbing of the tide. The music rushed in and pulled away, gurgling, cheerful. And with her cool, sea-foam eyes and light blonde hair, he could almost see the ocean reflected in her figure.

"Oh my." The shopkeeper had her hand up to her mouth. Choko played a couple more notes, like drops of pure water falling into a spring, then withdrew the violin from herself.

"I… really like it." She seemed pleasantly surprised. "It's nice. But ma'am," she turned to the shopkeeper, "judging by the sound, this violin is too expensive for me."

"Pretty pet, I have never seen anyone play like that for… for 15 years. Not since my husband played to me under the stars." The shopkeeper thought for a bit. "Honey, I'll lower the price, just for you, to however low you want it." But Choko was shaking her head before the shopkeeper had even finished her sentence.

"Ma'am, that's charity." But Itachi could see how hard it was for her to let go of the violin and give it to the shopkeeper.

_That takes some self-control_, he thought, never forgetting the sight of her eyes traveling hungrily over the others' violins.

"Outstanding morals, beautiful, smart… my dear child, you are an angel. But please, your performance was payment enough."

"Ma'am, that's charity disguised with feathers."

"How about this one, Choko?" Itachi held out the best violin he could find under $300. Though the sound was still beautiful under her elegant fingers, the quality barely compared.

"This will be fine."

When they returned, there was only 10 minutes left in the period.

"What took so long, Sensei?" Kimi complained, still playing the violin. As promised, her fingers were flying up and down the stem, deftly pressing strings. Seiji, on the other hand, was snoring serenely, his instrument still in the case. Itachi hit him hard on the head with the spine of a book.

"So what violin did you get?" Kimi smirked at the cheap brand Choko held up. Seiji rubbed his head and yawned, sleepily smiling at Choko.

"Don't worry 'bout it, Choko. Everyone starts off with a violin like that." Itachi immediately forgave the red-haired boy for sleeping.

"It's good enough," Choko replied, smiling. Itachi saw her hands tighten on the handle of the case.

"Okay, students," the attention quickly shifted to him, "we have about 7 minutes left, so you may leave early if you want."

"Sensei," Kimi's voice turned flattering, "perhaps you can show us a sample of your talent?" At this, Seiji, and Choko, who had been talking, looked up eagerly. Itachi sighed and took out his violin from the case, wincing slightly at Kimi's nod of approval upon seeing the expensive violin. But Choko did not seem to mind, only looked at Itachi, waiting for him to start playing.

Choko laughed when he plated his first note, a laugh of joy and excitement. It was a beautiful laugh that seemed to bubble up from the depths of her sea green eyes and come pouring fourth to fill the room, frothy and light. It washed up to his fingers, making them play lighter, more deftly.

His last note was almost non-existent; Kimi's open-mouthed stare was affecting him. She shook her head, as if clearing it, and laughed, too. After Choko's laugh, hers sounded like a badly tuned string.

"That was amazing, Sensei!" Kimi sputtered and Seiji nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Thank you; I have been practicing for a very long time," he looked towards Choko, who was looking at the clock with a wistful expression on her face. "Did you like it, Choko?" She turned back and smiled her eyes still longing for something.

"It was wonderful, Sensei. It reminded me of drifting butterflies." Itachi looked at her with a thoughtful expression on is face.

"**I'm sorry for imposing on you, Choko, but can you stay after class again?**" Itachi didn't expect her to know what 'imposing' meant in English, so he was surprised, once again, when she responded fluently.

"**Not at all, Sensei**." He was sure few other students in this school were as fluent as her.

"Okay, class dismissed!" Kimi quickly packed up her violin and flounced out of the room, running to make it to soccer practice. Seiji, on the other hand, leisurely packed up his things.

"You want me to wait for you, Choko?"

"It's okay, Seiji. Sensei said I have to talk to him." He shrugged and yawned.

"If he gives you detention, tell me, okay? I'll make sure to get detention, too." With that, he grinned and ambled out of the room. Once again, Itachi sat in a chair opposite of her.

"Choko, don't you live right next to me?" Her pale skin tinged pink, starting at the tip of her ears.

"It _was_ y-you this m-morning, S-sensei!" Choko stammered out. "I apologize for my rude behavior. I thought I was late and when I saw you blocking the stairs, I was very frustrated and I—" Itachi shushed her with a wave of his hand.

"No, it was my fault. I should have let you pass. I was just preoccupied this morning and when you slammed the door, I startled me a bit." Choko was still pink. "Choko, why don't we walk home together from now on? I wouldn't be good if you got into trouble on the streets and as far as I know, none of the students live near us. Although," he added as a joke, "I don't think Seiji would mind walking the opposite way." Choko relaxed at this and smiled a little bit wider than usual.

"Seiji is a good friend," she said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well then," Itachi said, rising, "pack up your things. I have something to do in my office, so I'll meet you outside."

"How come you don't have a jacket, Choko?" Itachi asked while they were walking.

"It's not cold, Sensei."

"You are amazing," he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing." After walking for a while, Itachi noticed she was falling behind. He glanced behind him to see Choko dexterously snatching leaves from the air, silently laughing. But when she felt his gaze, she lowered her arm, her ears turning pink again.

"I don't usually have time to notice things like leaves falling because I'm usually very busy. So I sometimes go overboard when I see these things and act like a child—"

"It's fine to act like a child." Itachi smiled at her, "You should enjoy your childhood. You won't get a second chance at it." Gradually, the pink tinge disappeared from her face as they resumed walking. "Choko," Itachi hesitated, "is everything alright at home?" Choko didn't respond. "You often look very… lonely. And often, you look at the clock with a sad expression on your face, like you are dreading something unpleasant to happen. So I just wanted to know—"

"Please don't pry, Sensei." Her voice was quiet and her eyes were fixed on the ground. Itachi closed his mouth and smiled.

"I apologize."

They walked the rest of the way in silence.


	2. Used to Things

Chapter 2

The rest of the class filed out of the classroom, pointing and whispering at the slight girl sleeping in the corner. Itachi erased the board and crossed over to the back of the classroom to wake her up.

"Choko?" He gently shook her shoulder, "Choko, time for Violin Lesson." She bolted upright and groaned when she saw her teacher crouching beside her.

"I did it again, didn't I?"

"Choko, I don't mind if you fall asleep in my class. You have the highest grade out of all my students. I'm just worried what's making you like this. It's only the first month of school. You aren't under the influence of any drugs, are you?" Her lips curved up into a half-hearted smile.

"No, Sensei."

"It's not the workload is it? I can decrease it if you want."

"No, Sensei. The workload's fine." She attempted another smile. "I guess I'm just tired these days." Itachi sighed and stood up.

"Well, pack up your things, it's time to go to Violin Lesson." They made their way into the music room, where Kimi and Seiji were already tuning their violins and rosining their bows.

"Good afternoon, Sensei!" Kimi said over-cheerfully, blatantly ignoring Choko.

"Good afternoon, Choko!" Seiji said, mimicking Kimi's tone and blatantly ignoring Itachi. He gave an easy grin when Choko smiled.

"Very clever, Seiji. Please take a seat before I develop a headache." The red-haired boy obliged, sitting next to Choko, who smiled again. "So, guys, as you know, the principal has requested the school's first assembly to be in a week and for Violin Lesson to begin the assembly. And, it is tradition for Violin Lesson to play Canon in D for the first event. So, no matter how boring and slow it is, we must play it." Kimi tossed her head, like the mere suggestion of playing Canon in D was belittling her talent. "So practice a little bit, just to make sure you know it, and—"

"Wait, Sensei, when's the assembly exactly?" Seiji asked, looking wide-awake for once.

"September 27th."

"September 27th?!" Kimi and Seiji screeched. Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"I… I can't make it, Sensei. I leave for an overnight trip with my mom on that day to Paris." Even though her voice was mostly desperate, Itachi could still hear some smugness.

"I also can't make it, Sensei. My parents are gone that day and I have to take my sister to the dentist."

"Well, you guys can't help it." Itachi sighed and looked at Choko. "This needs at least two violinists, so I guess I'll just have to fill in. So let's just go over it before we go home, okay Choko?"

"That's fine with me, Sensei."

"Okay, guys. Go to your respective corners and start playing the piece you're working on." The room filled with the notes of different pieces, each reflecting the personality of the player. Kimi's piece was difficult and impressive, pompous all the way through. Seiji's piece was slow and sonorous, reverberating like the lullaby of the earth. And of course, Choko's piece pulled in and out like the tides, tranquility mixing with sadness, permanence with loneliness. He sighed when he saw Kimi was trying not to cry, missing notes in her piece.

"Choko, let's practice our piece."

"Yes, Sensei." She stopped playing and waited for Itachi to settle next to her.

"I'll keep time with my foot, okay?" She nodded and the sound of rhythmic tapping started. "One, two, three, four."

They played it perfectly, harmonies mixing together, two violins perfectly in sync with each other. But only a professional would recognize this. To everyone else, it was a boring piece played without mistakes.

"I wish they would let us play a piece that showed our strengths more," Itachi murmured after they had drawn their bows for the last note. Choko started to practice her piece again.

"Sometimes, tradition is more powerful than anything else. Besides, I'm sure we get to play more challenging pieces in other concerts, right?"

"I suppose…" Itachi trailed off, watching her play. "Choko, how long do you practice?"

"Ummm…" She put down her bow to think but her fingers still danced over the strings. "I think about 4 hours?"

"A week?" Choko, your playing is beautiful, but if you want to improve—"

"No, sensei, a day." The words had been about to say died in his mouth.

"A day?! How do you have time to do your other homework?!"

"I do my homework first, and play violin after." A subtle sadness settled over her smile and sea-foam eyes. "These days, it's the only thing that makes me happy." There was a silence, tense, filled with questions that should, that could, not be asked.

"We'll get you that violin, Choko," Itachi said quietly. When she opened her mouth to protest, Itachi stood up. "I'm certain that, after the principal sees how wonderful you are in at the concert, he will offer you a better violin. This school can certainly afford one violin. But on the off-chance he does not mention it, I will personally bring it up." That smile burst through again, so whole-heartedly happy that Itachi couldn't help but smile himself.

"Okay," she said, "okay. Thank you."

"Nervous?" Choko looked at Itachi and nodded, closing the sliver of curtain she has pushed aside to look at the crowd. "First time?" he continued. She nodded again, looking at her feet. Itachi bent down so his face was level with hers. "It's nothing to be nervous over. Your playing is beautiful and I know you know this boring piece," he shook the music for emphasis, "by heart. I'll be right with you the entire time." Her body visibly relaxed and her striking smile returned.

"Thank you, Sensei." He straightened up and ruffled her hair.

"**Don't mention it, kiddo**. Now, where's your violin?" Just then, a group of senior girls walked in with Choko's violin case.

"Here you go, Choko," a pretty girl with chestnut hair said. "We cleaned it for you." Choko took the case that the girl was offering, puzzled.

"Thank you. But I don't remember asking for my violin to be cleaned…" She trailed off when it was apparent that the girls were not listening to her, but instead, staring coquettishly at Itachi.

"Bye, Sensei," they said in unison and walked away, giggling.

"That's strange," Choko commented. "I thought I left my violin by yours." Suddenly, Itachi was hit with a feeling of uneasiness.

"You checked your bow, right, Choko?" he asked, "Tuned? Changed your strings?"

"Mhmm!" she responded, "before I put the violin near your violin." His uneasiness persisted.

"Here. Give me your violin. I'll check—"

"Itachi Sensei! On stage now! You too Choko!" He scowled at the stage crewmember and then sighed.

"We're out of time," he said, picking up his case and taking his violin out. "Let's hope nothing goes wrong." They walked onstage to the sound of polite clapping and bowed. Tucking their instrument underneath their chins, Itachi counted off softly.

For the first minute, it was like playing a magical lullaby. Somehow, it had the effect of making the students in the audience go to sleep. Itachi even saw the principal nodding off, much to Itachi's irritation. But then, the ominous feeling Itachi had possessed previously, manifested.

Choko's lowest string snapped, cutting her cheek open.

The audience gasped and Itachi was about to stop playing when he received the same glare he had received from Choko on the morning he met her.

"Don't you dare stop," she mouthed, furious, "Just follow my count." Suddenly, her rhythm sped up and she jumped to a higher register, forcing Itachi to improvise the harmony. A shout of recognition came from some of the boys in the audience.

"She's playing Cannon Rock!" By this time, the students were all awake. Itachi didn't dare to look at the principal, not because he was intimidated, but because he had never heard of Cannon Rock, and was improvising the entire fast-paced harmony.

When the song ended, the entire student body jumped to their feet in applause.

"That was freakin' epic!"

"So cool!"

"The bended the rules by playing Cannon Rock instead of the classical one!"

"Sensei was improvising the entire thing! Did you see?! He's crazy!"

"Go Sensei! I love you!"

"That girl broke her string but she kept playing! What a boss!"

"Hey the girl is pretty hot. Isn't her name Choko?"  
>"Choko's really sexy when she's mad. Did you see her glare at Sensei?"<p>

"She's such a bitch! She just kept going even though Sensei was worried about her!" The last comment shocked Itachi the most. He looked over to reassure Choko that the comment wasn't true and saw a tired, patient look on her face. As if she were used to this.

"Bow, Sensei." He bowed with her, and the applause grew even more thunderous. They walked backstage, only to be confronted with a group of girls with flowers in their hand.

"Not now." Itachi cut them off before they could begin to squeal. "Choko's injured." Quickly, he strode through the group and out into the hallway, making sure the blonde girl was following him.

The nurses office was, of course, empty, and Itachi gestured for Choko to sit down on one of the chairs.

"You should have stayed back with your lovely fan club. I could take care of myself." There was a touch of bitterness in her voice.

"As their idol, I apologize deeply on their behalf." She smiled and winced, trying to keep the blood from dripping onto her uniform. Quickly, Itachi wiped the blood off her face with an alocohol swab. In a matter of seconds, the cut was bandaged.

"That was really fast," Choko said, touching her bandaged face while Itachi cleaned up just as quickly and efficiently as he had treated her wound.

"Years of practice." Choko could have sworn she saw his eyes harden the slightest bit. They were both silent as Itachi finished cleaning up. "Well then, let's go eat an early lunch since the assembly is still going on."

"I told you, Sensei, I don't have a lunch."

"I know. That's why I made you one." He smiled gently at her shocked face. "What do you think a teacher is, Choko?"

"S-someone who teaches at a school?" she stammered.

"Incorrect. Your first incorrect answer, I believe." He smiled wider at her scowling face. "A teacher teaches, but not only for school. He or she guides a student in all parts of life. So although you say you're not hungry, as a growing girl, you have to eat." His mile turned mischievous. "Besides, many girls say my cooking is wonderful." He flicked her forehead gently. "Now, now, now, I know you don't like it. Don't frown, you'll get wrinkles."

By this time, they were by the classroom. Itachi pulled up a chair next to his desk and pulled two bentos from his bag, placing one near the chair he had pulled up. When he waved her hand at her, she grudgingly sat down next to him, opening the bento box.

"You're surprisingly childish, Sensei," she said, when she saw that his mouth was already filled with food.

"Not childish. Just a guy. Now eat." When Itachi finished, he just watched her eat the food that he had made, a strange sense of satisfaction rising in his chest.

She ate gracefully of course; he entire character was graceful. Bust she also ate viciously, as if she wasn't sure when her next meal was coming. When she finished, she caught her breath and pouted, embarrassed, realizing that Itachi had been watching her eat.

"Was it good?" She nodded, still embarrassed. "Good. I'll make you one everyday."

"Sensei! That's—"

"**Tell me, kiddo, why did you keep playing after you got cut? You had a lot of blood running down your face.**"

"**I'm used to blood.**" The question Itachi wanted to ask almost spilled out of his mouth, but was checked by Choko's defensive stance, her distanced glare.

Once again, the air was filled with questions that could not be asked.


	3. Welcome Home

Chapter 3

"Sensei?" Itachi turned around to see familiar sea foam eyes looking straight into his dark brown ones.

"Yes? It's almost time to go home. Did you pack up yet?"

"Actually, Sensei, I wanted to tell you that I can't walk with you today because I'm going to the library with Seiji. Is that okay?" Itachi smiled.

"That's fine, Choko. I'm glad that you're making friends." However, at that second, an emotion flashed across Choko's face that made Itachi narrow his eyes. But it was too late. She had already run out the door.

"Choko? Choko!" There was no answer. Itachi put down his attendance list. A girl politely raised her hand.

"I don't think she's here today, Sensei. I didn't see her at all today, so she can't be skipping class."

"Ah, okay. Thank you, Michiru." She blushed but Itachi paid no attention and began to absent-mindedly assign problems for the students.

When lunchtime rolled around, Itachi realized how boring it was to eat lunch without Choko. He tried to eat with the teachers, but their complaints on students and wages disgusted Itachi. He knew Koroki High School paid teachers almost two times the amount of money than other teachers at other high schools received. Their greed knew no bounds. He sighed again as he ate his bento, wishing Choko was here so that she could tell him all sorts of amusing things with her charming, lilting voice.

"And what the hell are you sighing at, Ichi-kun?" Itachi turned to see a messy teacher with tousled black hair and stubble grin at him. Itachi grabbed the cigarette out of the teacher's mouth and ground it out on an ashtray.

"Nothing, _Momo_." He winced when he heard his real name being used. Usually, the teachers and students called him S, for his sadistic and dark fetishes.

"Now, now, Ichi-kun," the unkempt teacher whined, wrapping both arms around Itachi's torso, "Why are you so short-tempered today? It's not because that cute foreign student that you're dating isn't here today, right?"

"I'm not dating a student," Itachi replied, rubbing his temples, "And don't you have to bother someone else today?"

"But you're my favorite!" S cried, his voice imitating a teenage girl's voice.

"You're insane," Itachi pointed out as S pulled out and lit another cigarette.

"But you know," S continued, ignoring Itachi, "she's a hell of student, yeah? Does all her homework, is a great team leader, never talks back. Speaks in public likes she's born to do it, not to mention she has a beautiful body and gorgeous—"

"Yes, yes. Now stop talking before my IQ drops."

In Violin Lesson, Itachi almost cracked his coffee cup in an effort to keep calm under Kimi's chattering; she had decided Choko's absence was a great opportunity to flirt with Itachi.

"Kimi," he said at last, gently, "less talking, more practicing." He sighed when Kimi flounced to a different corner, pouting. "Seiji?" The red haired boy drawled out a note on his violin as a response. "Did Choko seem sick when you guys when to the library yesterday?"

"What?" Seiji tilted his head in confusion. "I didn't go to the library with her yesterday. I was playing soccer with my friends." There was an abrupt silence in the room, as if someone had played a discordant note.

"Class will be dismissing a little early today." With that, he grabbed his bag and strode out the door.

When he arrived at Choko's house, he knocked on the door as soon as he discovered the doorbell wasn't working.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" Nobody answered and he tried the door, his apprehension growing when he found it unlocked. Walking in, he found himself in a dim room. He flipped the light switch a couple of times, but was forced to move on in the dark when the lights didn't turn on. He headed towards a room that did have a light on. "Choko?"

Then, he noticed something strange. There was no furniture. No pictures, no ornaments, nothing. There weren't even shoes by the door except Choko's. When he walked into the lighted room, he saw something that jerked all of his heartstrings at once: Choko, slumped over a pile of textbooks on the floor, her face burning with fever, still in her school uniform.

"Choko?" He quickly moved over to her side, shaking her shoulder. "Choko? Can you hear me?"

"Mommy!" she cried out suddenly, "Daddy! Don't leave me! I'm sorry! I'll be a good girl!" Itachi felt his heart lurch again.

"**Poor kid…**" he whispered, brushing a stray tear trailing down her face. He picked her up gently, surprised and worried to find her extremely light, and carried her into his apartment.

Choko woke up suddenly, aware that her surroundings were not familiar. She was in a clean white bedroom, a bedroom without personality. She knew that she didn't have a bed at her house, rather sleeping in blankets on the floor. So she was surprised to feel a bed under her, as white and neutral as the bedroom.

She yelped when the door opened, blanching when she saw Itachi walk in.

"S-s-sensei?" she stammered, her words quickly erupting into a fit of coughing. He didn't say anything, but placed a cool hand on her burning forehead.

"You know how to swallow pills, right?" He smiled when she scowled darkly at him, nodding. "Good, take these and drink it with water. "After she had done so, he took the cup from her and pulled the blanket around her. "Are you cold?" She shook her head. "Good. Go sleep some more." He walked out of the room, leaving Choko to fall into another dreamless sleep.

When she woke up, the only thing she could think of was her stomach screaming for food. She stumbled out of the bedroom only to crash into Itachi, who was holding a bag.

"Oh good, you're up." He held out the bag to her. "There are pajamas, underwear, shampoo, bras, conditioner, a tooth brush, toothpaste, and a hair brush in there." He sighed when she reddened. "No, I don't buy women's underwear or bras often. Momo, I mean, your biology teacher, had to help me. Yes, he is a pervert. Yes, he knew your bra size. Yes, you should sue him." He smiled when her stomach growled, which made her blush more. "I'll make you something to eat after you take a shower. Chicken and rice sound good…" he walked away, mumbling to himself about ingredients.

Itachi looked behind him when he smelled strawberry shampoo.

"Hmm? Oh good. They fit." Itachi couldn't help but think she looked adorable in her baggy pajamas, her hands behind her back. He quickly crossed the room and put a hand on her forehead. "Hmm… you still have a slight fever. You should dry your hair. Here, sit down." He grabbed a towel from the bathroom and proceeded to rub her hair dry while the rice and chicken cooked. "There. You can brush it after you eat." He stood up and put rice and chicken on two plates, setting one down in front of Choko.

Once again, he watched her bolt down the meal as if she was afraid someone was going to steal it from her. "Hey, hey, slow down. There's plenty more where that came from." She paid no attention to him and nodded her head when Itachi asked her if she wanted seconds. On her second plate, she started to eat slower, much to Itachi's relief. When she finished, Itachi stood up. "Now that you're full, let's get you some medicine, and then back to bed."

"Umm…" Itachi turned around to face her.

"Yes?"

"T-thank you so much for doing this for me. I-is there a-any way I can repay you, Sensei?"

"Actually there is!" He bent over so that their faces were level, all the humor in his eyes stripped away. "My first request is tell me what the _fuck_ you were doing living in a house by yourself with no parents." She flinched at his tone, but he didn't back away.

"My parents left me at a carnival when I was five years old." Tears slowly start to drip down her face, but her voice didn't falter. "I tried to find them for a long time, but I finally had to accept that they had left me there. The carnival people took me in, taking care of me until I was a junior. And then, I left them, found a place here, took a test for Koroki High School, and enrolled. I thought that if I could get a good education, I could be come a world-renown something, _anything_, and my parents would recognize me and realize what they had lost. That apartment was the cheapest I could find because it's a little run down." Itachi looked at her for a long time.

"Is that all? Are you hiding anything?"

"No." The expression flashed across her face again, guilt, but he let it go. He sighed.

"Okay," he straightened up. "Well, that explains a lot of things." He stared at her for a bit, thinking. Finally, he fished something out of his back pocket and handed it to her. "This is my second request." Choko took the paper and scanned it rapidly. Her eyes widened.

"Sensei, this is—"

"A guardian registration form. Yes, I know. I thought that you didn't have parents as soon as I walked into your apartment, but as a teacher, I cannot allow that. So why don't you come live with me? I'm not rich, but I'm very far from being poor. I can cook, as you saw, and I can keep an eye on you since I teach where you go to school. Not to mention I—" Itachi found his arms full of a sobbing girl. He smiled gently and held her to him, stroking her still damp hair.

"T-t-hank y-ou-u," he managed to hear and chuckled.

"No problem, but I think you're going to hate this next request." This stopped her sobbing and made her look up. Itachi was rendered momentarily speechless by her beautiful eyes, shining with tears.

"What… request?"

"Get on the scale." Choko reddened and pouted, then yelped when Itachi threw her over his shoulder.

"On the scale, on the scale," he sang, while she struggled. He placed her on the scale in the bathroom, telling her not to move. "Eighty nine?" She looked away.

"I… don't get much to eat." Itachi sighed.

"Ninety seven."

"…Excuse me?"

"We're getting you up to ninety seven before the year's over." Before Choko could protest, she found herself being enveloped by warm arms.

"**Welcome home, kiddo**," Itachi murmured into her hair, "Welcome home."


	4. In English, Please

Chapter 4

Itachi stroked Choko's head, her golden hair forming a halo around the pillow she slept on.

"Choko?" He shook her a little bit. "Choko?" One of her eyes opened, a hint of turquoise shining through. "Choko, listen to me." She yawned and rubbed her eyes with her sleeve while Itachi tried to restrain himself from exclaiming how cute she was; that would just make her embarrassed. "Choko, I'm going to go teach. When you wake up, take a shower and change into the pajamas in the closet. I left medicine on the counter because you still have bit of a fever, so take that when you wake up. I also have a sandwich in the refrigerator, so make sure to eat as much of that as you can, alright?" She nodded and Itachi drew the covers around her again, giving her one last pat on the head.

Just as he was about the leave the house, Itachi heard the pitter-patter of bare feet down the hallway. The next thing he knew, the tiny girl was hugging him around the waist.

"Come back soon," she said sleepily and yawned. Itachi smiled gently and fixed a stray piece of wavy hair.

"Yeah. **I'll be back soon, kiddo**."

Itachi was extremely busy at school. Not only did he have to register himself officially as Choko's guardian, but he also had to inform the school of it, and that meant a whole stack of paper work.

"At least I know what those poor mothers go through now," he sighed as he completed the last sheet in the stack. Just as he was about to stand to check his students' questions, there was a flamboyant knock on the door. Itachi crossed over to the other side of the classroom and turned the knob.

"Ichi-kun!" He immediately slammed the door on S's face, raising a wave of giggling from the students. "Ichi-kun, that hurt!" he heard from outside the door.

"Quiet,_ Momo_, I'm teaching!"

"I told you not to use that name!"

"And I told you to stop barging in during class."

"Ichi-kun!"

"_Momo_." By this time, the entire class was laughing at the exchange. A sound of dissatisfaction floated in from outside.

"And even when I ran all the way over here to tell you the bad news!" The class immediately became silent and Itachi crossed over to the door again.

"What bad news?" he asked softly, opening the door."

"You know how you asked me to check on her?" S responded, keeping his voice equally low, "Well, she's not there."

"Did you check all the rooms?"

"You think I'm stupid?"

"Don't make me answer that question honestly." Itachi walked back into the classroom and grabbed his backpack. "Self-study for the rest of the period! Have a nice day!" He walked out, leaving the students chattering behind him.

Usually, the road back to his house was ten minutes if he walked, but if he sprinted, it was two.

"Choko!" he called out as soon as he had opened the door. "Choko! Where are you?" There was no response, and he quickly went through all the rooms. "Choko?" When he heard the front door open and close, he quickly went to the hall. "Choko?"

"Yes, Sensei?" As soon as she saw Itachi's flushed face, her eyes widened. "What's wron — oww!" She rubbed the spot on her forehead that Itachi had flicked as hard as he could. "What was that for?"

"When you leave," he said slowly and clearly, holding her shoulders, "you write a note on where you are going, why, and for how long._ Do you understand?_"

"O-okay," she stammered, her eyes still wide. He let go of her shoulders and collapsed in a chair, sighing. At the sight of her frightened eyes, he reached up and ruffled her hair. "A-are you still mad, then?" The corners of his mouth turned up the slightest bit.

"No. I wasn't mad in the first place. Just worried. I ran here from school as soon as Momo told me you weren't here."

"You don't look like you ran here. You aren't even breathing hard." He waved his hand vaguely.

"I'm physically fit. Let's leave it at that. Now, where were you?"

"I was… running…"

"…Running, huh?"

"Yep," she said, avoiding his eyes.

"Running where?"

"Just… up and down this street."

"Huh. Weird how we didn't run into each other." When she didn't answer, he sighed again and stood up, looking at his watch.

"Well, let's go shopping, since class is pretty much over."

"Shopping?" Itachi couldn't help but chuckle at her excitement.

"Yeah, shopping. Let's get you clothes, shoes… what else to girls need? Tampons and things." He raised an eyebrow when she wouldn't meet his eyes. "I thought you would be embarrassed with this type of thing, not depressed."

"I… haven't… gotten my period yet."

There was a silence.

"Do you know why?" Her eyes shifted to the left, while Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"Probably because I don't eat much."

"Huh. Interesting." Itachi took a step towards Choko. "**By the way kiddo, how did you pay your rent for the apartment?**" She stepped back with every step he took forward.

"I-I had s-some money saved…" she trailed off when her back hit the wall, her eyes impossibly wide, the sea-foam color shining through. His dangerous aura poured off him in waves, and his eyes took a slight reddish tint.

Then, suddenly, almost impossibly, he was gone, reappearing on the other side of the room.

"I don't like liars." He didn't turn around to face her. "I think all lies will hurt in the end. But if you think it's important to keep that secret you're hiding from me, fine. "I'll let you keep it. But it doesn't mean I'm not going to try my best to find out." Itachi opened the door. "Come on. Let's go."  
>The shopping trip was a subdued one. At the beginning, Itachi had said, "Get whatever you want. I'll pay for everything." The ride back home was also quiet. However, Itachi found himself thinking about many things and taking sidelong glances at the sleeping girl.<p>

_Tomorrow_, he though, _we'll have pancakes for breakfast. Maybe rice balls will be good for lunch. I'll have to go shopping for ingredients for dinner. _Automatically, his brain made a list of things he needed to buy and the best place to get them, and filed the information away for later. _I'm glad she has good taste_, he thought, his eyes glimpsing the pile of bags in the back. _I'm not sure what I would have done if she insisted on buying miniskirts. _

The car smoothly pulled up to the driveway and rumbled to a stop, a calm silence filling the air. Itachi made several trips to carry the bags into the apartment, carrying Choko last into her bedroom and tucking her in. She stirred sleepily and smiled faintly, making Itachi smile, too. And in this comfortable silence, he went to bed.

The brief burst of an alarm clock and a soft curse snapped him out of a vague dream. There was a silence, and he heard the creaking of floorboards. A door opened and closed and silence washed in again.

"Fuck!" Itachi burst from his bed and pulled on his jeans, shirt and jacket. Grabbing Choko's new jacket, he ran outside, just as he saw a ghostly figure disappearing around the corner.

It seemed like there were more twists and turns than Itachi remembered there being in the day. He steadily gained on her, occasionally glimpsing an emerald dress or golden hair. Finally, he turned to find her streaking down a long stretch of alleyway. But before he could pursue her, two beefy bodyguards with huge knives stepped in front of him.

"I'm sorry, sir," one of them said politely, "but I can't let you pass this point unless you're a member."

"What kind of establishment steals away high school girls in the middle of the night?" he snarled, seething in anger. The bodyguard's polite smile dropped off his face when he heard Itachi's tone.

"What are you doing chasing after high school girls in the middle of the night?" he sneered.

"I am her guardian." The bodyguards involuntarily stepped back when they heard his words and saw his eyes slowly tinting wine-red. But they straightened at did their best to look intimidating.

"I'm sorry, sir, but in that case, we most certainly can't let you pa—" Both bodyguards started violently when they realized he wasn't in front of them anymore. They whirled around when they heard footsteps behind them and saw Itachi leaping down the alleyway and straight through the door.

He gasped for breath when he reached the inner hall of the building, but pressed onward. There was a roar of male voices and cheering, which spiked his anger levels even higher.

"I swear to Jashin, if she's stripping—"

"Stripping?" said a voice behind him, "Why would anybody in here be stripping? This isn't a strip club." The voice was comfortingly familiar, and Itachi turned to find himself face-to-face with a shorter, white-haired male with a scar running through one eye.

"Kakashi-sensei?" The white-haired man smiled, though it was barely noticeable under the mask that covered the lower half of his face.

"I thought it was you. I haven't seen you in—" Itachi cut him off.

"Sensei, I have no time. Look, do you have a girl here? Her name is Choko and she has hair like liquid gold." Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Liquid gold?" Kakashi chuckled, but turned serious again. "You shouldn't use her real name so freely here."

"What's her ring name?"

"Second Drizzle." Itachi experienced a wave of nausea at the sound of the familiar name.

"Does anyone… connect—"

"Only a couple of old-timers. But they know enough to keep their mouths shut." Kakashi looked at his former student with a mixture of pity and sadness.

"She's your student?" Itachi asked quietly, trying not to throw up.

"Yes."

"Did you have students before her?"

"Yes."

"What happened to those students?" Kakashi made a motion. Itachi nodded.

"Ah. I see." There was a quiet lull, a moment of respectful silence.

"Welcome back, kid." Kakashi finally said, starting to lead his way to the ring, "After ten years, you finally decided to visit."

She was beautiful.

That's the thought that he was hit with as soon as he walked into the main room and saw Choko on the circular raised platform. The deep, emerald kimono brought out the color of sea in her eyes. Her golden hair was tied up in a traditional bun, decorated with glittering ornamental butterflies. The crowd roared for her and she bowed deeply in their direction.

"Who's her opponent?" Itachi managed to say.

"It's Hornet."

"He's still in?"

"After you left, he had no more competition, so he rose in rank." Just then, a bulky man with ugly buckteeth and a butterfly ring on his pointer finger climbed on stage. The crowd cheered even louder for him. He flexed his muscles and smiled, his face twisting into an ugly grimace.

"She's going to get killed!" Itachi exclaimed, frightened. Kakashi merely shrugged.

"Not quite." Chimes rang, signaling the beginning of the fight. Hornet whipped out two long daggers and immediately lunged for Choko. Itachi was about to cry out when she did something that made his jaw drop.

She vanished.

Suddenly, Hornet bellowed out and took a few steps forward, clutching his back. She appeared behind him, her hands holding three butterfly knives. There was blood dripping from one of them.

She was juggling them. One knife after the other soared into the air in the unmistakable performer's pattern.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" she cried, smiling, her white teeth glinting. Itachi could tell it was forced. "Boys and girls! It's drizzling outside, so step inside my circus tent!" She took a jaunty step forward, effortlessly juggling the knives, often them behind her back. "Let me show you what true fear—" she disappeared again, "—is!"

"She's not as strong as you." Choko threw a knife into the air and Hornet tracked it for a brief second. But in that spilt second, she leapt behind him, slashed, jumped clear, and caught the falling knife, continuing the juggling pattern. Once again, the crowd thundered at the invisible action. Only Kakashi and Itachi, who knew the technique of misdirection, could see it and even then, barely. "But she has one hell of a misdirection technique."

There was now an X carved on Hornet's back. Six minutes later, there were two more cuts, making the shape of an hourglass on its side.

"She's not cutting deep enough," Itachi murmured, "she won't win!"

"The rules have been changed in response to the skyrocketing death rates," Kakashi responded, "You are no longer required to fight to the death, if you can slash your opponents six times without receiving a single scratch yourself, on the basis that you overpower your opponent."

Another cut appeared on Hornets back, making actions start to become erratically desperate.

"What is it called?"

"Formally, it's called the Overpowering Prevention Rule. But nobody really used it. And then, she," he nodded at the flashing figure of the young girl, "took it and made the rule her own. People started to call it the Butterfly's Touch."

The chimes rang, and Itachi could clearly see the blood running down the gouges on Hornet's back, a sideways hourglass with two lines running through the middle of it.

A butterfly.

The crowd cheered and Choko bowed low, smiling her forced smile again. But the crowd was screaming next, pointing to the knife Hornet held flashing over her.

Warm blood gushed over her fingers as Hornet went flying off the platform onto the ground, knocking him unconscious. Over the uproar of the crowd, Choko could hear the low voice.

"Do you feel that?" Itachi pressed her hands tighter into the wound on his side, letting her feel the blood spurting out of the cut. "That's what it feels like when your hurt someone." She tried struggling, but he held her firmly to him. "It hurts so much more when it's someone you love, doesn't it?"

"I don't love you!" she burst out, struggling in earnest now, "I don't love anyone!" He did not let go.

"Then I'll make you love me! Within a year, I'll make you love me. In exchange, don't you dare step into this ring again!" She struggled more violently.

"Shut up and let me go! Why do you even care?"

"BECAUSE I'M YOUR GUARDIAN!" he screamed, cupping her face with both hands. As soon as he took the pressure off his wound, it started to surge blood again. "BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU WALKING DOWN THE ROAD I TRIED SO HARD TO QUIT!

"DO YOU THINK TAKING CARE OF A MINOR ISN'T EXPENSIVE?" She was crying. "ONCE YOU REALIZE, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO DUMP ME SOMEWHERE! SO THEN WHAT? I'M JUST GOING TO BE PENNILESS AND HELPLESS LIKE THE FIRST TIME? HELL NO!"

"I TOLD YOU I'D PAY FOR EVERYTHING!"

"THAT ISN'T THE POINT! THE POINT IS THAT I'M PREPARING FOR WHEN YOU LEAVE ME!" Itachi stared into her wide eyes, the tears still dropping steadily.

"I won't," he finally said quietly. After screaming, the quiet words were almost deafening. "I won't leave you. I won't leave you like they did. I don't know how to prove it to you. I'll do anything if you believe it, okay? I won't leave you." And he was hugging her, rocking her, whispering into her hair. "I won't leave you, I promise. I won't leave you. I won't leave."

Kakashi stepped up to them.

"I really don't want to ruin this, but both of you kids need to come into the back. I need to stitch big kid up and we need to continue the fights."

"Why are you sitting out here?" Choko flinched when Itachi sat beside her.

"I… didn't want to see you get the stitches…" She felt a coat being placed around her shoulders.

"You forgot this at home." The sun was just starting to rise, staining the world pink and orange. "By the way, I forbid you to come here again."

"Why won't you let me help pay—"

"Because as a teacher, a guardian, as a goddamn human being, it hurts me to see a kid work at night just to eat." He placed a hand on her head roughly. "You only have one childhood. Don't ruin it with things like this." She scowled and turned to him.

"How do you even know Kakashi-sensei?"

"Old people know each other."

"You're not even than old!"

"Thanks. Love you, too." She winced almost imperceptibly. "You haven't heard that often, huh?"

"I don't remember my parents saying it. And Kakashi-sensei is… not the epitome of affection." There was a brief silence, only interrupted by the first birdsong of the morning.

"I love you."

"You don't have to—"

"I love you. Get used to it."

"Whatever." Choko looked out of the corner of her eyes to Itachi's tired face. The rings under his eyes almost looked like bruises. "I'm sorry." He glanced towards her briefly, one corner of his mouth lifting.

"It's fine. **You're a strange little girl, but I'm an eccentric guardian, so it evens out.**"

She mumbled something under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Choko blushed when Itachi grinned.

"**Did you just say you love it when I speak English?**"

"No!" With one sweep of his arm, he dragged her by her waist next to him, tickling her.

"**Does the little girl want me to tell her I love her in English?**"

"Ahahahahaha! Stop! It tickles!"

"**I'll stop if you tell me you love me.**"

"I-I love you! Ahahahaha!"

"**In English!**" His voice sung with the melody of the request.

"**I love you!**" He grinned wider and stood up, swinging her onto his back.

"**I love you, too, my little girl.**"

"Sensei! Let me down!"

"**I love you, my gorgeous little girl.**" She turned red all the way up to her ears and scowled.

"S-stop it!" He simply smiled again and started walking to the house. His quiet footsteps echoed in the still Saturday morning. The fog of their breaths lightly misted over their heads, carrying into the sky only to disappear into the slowly brightening blue.

"**The truth is, I'm terrified of these fights.**" Choko was not sure if she had heard him correctly.

"Sensei, I—"

"**IN ENGLISH!**" His voice regained its composure, "**I'm sorry, but in English, my little girl. Please.**" She was shocked into silence, but slowly nuzzled her mouth to the side of his head. Not being able to see his face, she closed her eyes and concentrated hard on the sound of his voice.

"**Why are you frightened, Sensei?**" He silently took a trembling breath.

"**These fights are so impersonal, child. You don't know who you're going to kill until you do. And, Darling, you're so guilty afterwards. But during that time of killing, you lose that sense of guiltiness. So you kill more and more and before you know it…**" his voice was shaky, "**you've eaten up everything around you, little one.**" He tried to speak, but failed, his words dying at his lips.

"Sensei—"

"**ENGLISH!**" She was silent again. "**It's forbidden to speak English in that ring, because it's a purely Japanese sport. Even though rich businessmen from other countries bid on it, Japan will always own it. English is my only way out of it. It is my escape. I don't know any other way to pretend that the ring doesn't exist.**"

He carefully walked up the steps in front of their apartment complex and opened their front door. Not sure if she was sleeping, he set her down on her bed, but was surprised when her grip around his shoulders tightened.

"**Can we just stay like this until I fall asleep?** **I promise it won't take long.**" Itachi nuzzled back into her head.

"**Of course.**" Their breathing naturally synchronized and Itachi could feel the rise and fall of her chest. In a different part of the apartment, the refrigerator turned on, humming away into the stillness. Every time she breathed, a warm peach-scented cloud of air would glide across his cheek.

"**I love it when you speak English, Sensei.**" A few seconds later, her grip on his shoulders relaxed and her breathing deepened.

She had fallen asleep.


	5. Butterfly Knives

Chapter 5

"Sensei! It's time to go to school!" The golden-haired girl crammed her toast in her mouth while knocking on Itachi's door. "We're going to be late!" she yelled again, the sound muffled by the bread. When he didn't answer, she hurriedly swallowed the mouthful. "Sensei?" Slowly opening the door, the first thing Choko saw was Itachi's back. She could see a Polaroid in his hand but before she could see who it was, Itachi stuffed it back into his wallet again. "Sensei, it's time to…" Itachi brushed past her and started to put on his shoes by the front entrance. Choko timidly followed, reaching out to touch his sleeve. "Sensei? Is there something wrong?"

He threw open the door and took the steps down two at a time. She closed and locked the door, running to keep up with Itachi's long strides.

When they got to school, in silence, Choko automatically fell behind him. Even though Itachi had insisted she didn't, she didn't want to alert the student body that he was her guardian, so she limited the contact she had with him. But he didn't even look back. Instead, he went straight to the classroom and sat at his desk, pulling out a book to read. Choko, peeking her head around the doorframe, saw his blank eyes and faraway expression.

During class, he stood up, once, and assigned them ridiculously complicated problems. The tap, tap, tapping of chalk was the only sound he made before he sat down, picking up his book again. As soon as he did, the class burst into activity, scraping the desks together in a huge circle. Although she was bewildered by Itachi's sudden change of emotions, she did her best to teach her seatmate what she had already grasped a couple of days ago. Itachi didn't seem to mind the commotion. He stared out a window and didn't respond when she called his name.

"Don't bother, Choko," one of the boys comforted her, "The previous students said he always does this on December 14st. He gets really quiet and he won't answer any of your questions. Just leave Sensei alone." Grudgingly, she let herself be dragged away for lunch and shared their lunches. But when the hour for Violin Lesson came and went with no sign of a teacher, Choko made her way to S Sensei's office.

"Sensei?" S turned around in his swivel chair.

"Choko! Nice to see you! What can I help you with?"

"Sensei, would you happen to know where Itachi Sensei is?"

"Hmm…" S reached over and rifled through his calendar. "Ah," He put it down and faced Choko, quiet for once. "It's December 14st already, huh?"

"I-I heard people talking about that today, Sensei. Did something happen to Itachi Sensei on this day?" S was silent for a while, immersing himself on his thoughts.

"You live with Ichi-kun now, right Choko?"

"Y-yes, sir." He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Be careful tonight." With that, he waved her out the door.

She walked home alone, pushing the scarf above her mouth to counteract the frosty air. When she got to their apartment door, she let herself in and carefully locked the door.

"Sensei?" There was no response but Choko checked the rooms anyway. After she was sure there was no one in the apartment, she changed into her pajamas and sat by the kitchen table to do her homework. Ignoring the rumbling of her stomach, she did what she had done for the first five years of her life.

She waited for someone, anyone, to come home.

"So, this is where you live, cutie." The long-legged woman trailed a hand down Itachi's chest as he took off his shoes. They kissed, her crimson lipstick smearing on his lips and her blond hair. She giggled and started to take off his coat.

Itachi was drunk. He stumbled into the couch, pulling the woman, who was also drunk, he had picked up at the bar after him. He collapsed on the couch and the woman straddled him, her dress hiking up to her mid-thighs as they kissed some more. He wanted to lose himself in the alcohol and the heat of drunken sex. He had nothing he wanted to remember.

That is, until Choko walked into the room.

"Sensei?" The woman stopped kissing and whipped her head around. Itachi took a while to recognize where the trembling voice had come from, and when he did, he stood up, making the woman stand up, too.

"Choko, I-" he took a step towards her when the woman grabbed his wrist.

"Honey, where do you think you're going?" she slurred and pouted. Itachi gave a shudder of disgust at her twisted face and wrenched free. The woman was about to grab his wrist again when she found Choko standing in front of Itachi, pressed against him.

"P-please leave-ve," she managed to say, her voice barely audible.

"Move it, kiddo," the woman snarled, "This is business between adults." Choko shook her head violently.

"P-please leave."

There was a crack as the women slapped Choko across the face.

"GO TO YOUR ROOM!" she roared, her face red from alcohol and anger. The white-faced girl turned around and slowly walked back to her room, but not before Itachi caught a glimpse of tears spilling out of her turquoise eyes. When Choko had disappeared, the woman's smile returned. "Now, where were we?" But before she knew it, she was being unceremoniously dumped outside the door. "Wha-"

"Don't you EVER touch her again," Itachi hissed through clenched teeth and slammed the door in her face.

After he had thrown the woman out, he slumped on the couch with his face in his hands, not knowing what to do. He could hear the sobbing that Choko desperately tried to suppress that only ended up choking and coughing. Quietly, he made his way to her room, but when he stopped at her doorway, she stopped crying. She was trembling, but her eyes were closed, as if she thought she could fool him into believing she was sleeping. Completely sober, thanks to the throbbing red handprint on Choko's cheek, he sat on the bed next to her shaking form.

"Choko?" She didn't respond and kept her eyes shut tight. "Choko, I know you're awake." She turned away so her back was to him. "I'm sorry, little girl." He picked up her limp figure and cradled it to his chest, hearing her start sobbing again as she tried to push away from him. He simply held her tighter until finally, she clutched the front of his shirt. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry, little girl. I love you. I'm so sorry."

"I w-waited for you," she choked out.

"I know, little girl. I'm so sorry. There was something I didn't want to remember today."

"I thought you-ou weren't c-coming back." He wiped the tears of her face with the back of his hand.

"I know. You were waiting like a good girl. You were so brave for waiting for so long. I'm so sorry. It won't happen again. I'm sorry, little girl. I love you. You're such a good girl. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He kissed her forehead as her sobs wound down into hiccups and then down to deep breaths when she fell asleep. Itachi lightly put her down on the bed and went to get an ice pack. Wrapping it in a towel and holding the cool rectangle to her face where the handprint was, he stroked her hair, listening to her breathing.

The alarm clock erupted in ringing, but was shut off a second later by a heavy arm. It was enough to rouse Choko, who had trained herself to wake up at the slightest noise, since she usually had to wake up early. However, just as she was about to sit up, the arm that had turned off the alarm tightened around her waist and dragged her closer to the warm body it belonged to. When she realized Itachi was snuggling with her, a red blush dusted her cheeks to match her swollen, red eyes.

"Quit it, Choko," he growled when she started to struggle, "I already told the school we aren't coming today. And I have a bad headache from the alcohol, so stop moving and don't talk." She pouted, nothing like the disgusting curl of lips the woman had demonstrated yesterday, and stopped moving. In a moment, she was asleep again and so was Itachi.

Three hours later, when Itachi's phone rang, Choko didn't wake up. He picked up the phone immediately, so it wouldn't ring anymore, and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Itachi. This is the principal."

"Ah, good morning, principal." Itachi sat up, making sure Choko was not jostled.

"I trust you are enjoying your personal day?"

"Yes, sir."

"And Choko isn't too sick, right?"

"No, sir. It's just a cold."

"Good, good. We can't have our students getting sick, can we?"

"No, sir."

"Itachi, I got your email regarding a violin for the girl." Itachi checked to confirm Choko was sleeping.

"Yes, sir. She has an enormous amount of talent, so a school issued violin just dampens her potential."

"Yes, well, I'm sorry to say, Itachi, but I can't allow that."

"Sir?"

"I can't exactly start handing out two thousand dollars worth of instruments to every student, can I?"

"But, sir, her talent-"

"-is not important," the principal finished firmly, "because we believe in treating all students equally."

_No you don't, you greedy bastard_, Itachi thought bitterly. Everybody knew he gave expensive gifts to rich students, going as far as tweaking their grades, just so their parents would donate more to the school.

"But, sir!" Her performance at the school ceremony showcased her talent for the violin! Even after her string snapped, she continued to play!"

"And it was also very rebellious. As her guardian, I expect you to keep her in check from now on. Besides, she should have checked her strings before." Itachi thought he was going to scream in frustration.

"As you say, sir," he spat into the phone, slamming it on the receiver. There was a silence as he tried to control his anger.

"The principal doesn't want me to get a new violin, huh?" Itachi tucked the blonde girl to his side again.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry." Choko shrugged and flipped over onto her stomach.

"I wasn't expecting anything," she said calmly, "I'm hungry. Can we have pasta?" Itachi chuckled.

"Okay. You go and take a shower. I'll buy groceries, and we can eat after you're done."

When reached to hug her, she leaned away from him. His arms dropped.

"I'm sorry," he said, quietly.

She stared at him for a second and then jumped to the floor and ran to the bathroom.

When Itachi came back, Choko was brushing her hair on the balcony outside the front entrance.

"It's freezing! You're going to catch a cold."

"What took you so long?"

"Well…"

Choko stopped breathing.

"Just think of it as an early Christmas present."

She still didn't move.

"Now that you have one of your own-" Then, she was flying towards him, snatching the violin case out of his hands and opening it. Still speechless, she ran her hands over the smooth wood, the same wood she had admired at a violin shop months ago. "-be sure to practice even more." A warm feeling spread through his chest when he saw her wide eyes.

Soft lips pressed into his cheek, briefly, as she hugged him fiercely. Itachi brushed a hand over the cheek her lips had touched moments before.

"Thank you," she whispered, "thank you."

He smiled, lunch forgotten, running his hands through her damp hair.

"You're very welcome, little girl."

When the door creaked open, he looked up, startled. But when he saw that it was Choko, he was on his feet in a second.

"Sit," he said curtly, already taking out the first aid kit. She locked the door behind her and sat, sullen, carrying her broken glasses in one hand and her violin case in the other. Taking the violin and gently setting it down, Itachi took survey of the damage done. Her golden hair was messy, her braid almost non-existent. Black and blue bruises were starting to rise on her skin, one on her face, and several on her arms. She had a cut over her eyebrow, which was wet with blood, and other small scratches. He decided to take care of the cut first. "What happened?" She flinched when the alcohol touched her skin.

"A group of girls were trying to take my violin from me."

"How many?"

"Ten or twelve."

"Why didn't you just-"

"-give them the violin?" Her voice became quiet. "You gave this violin to me. It's precious. I will defend it." Defiant eyes looked into Itachi's.

"I wasn't going to say that," he said mildly, slightly pleased. She shifted uncomfortably while he finished bandaging the cut above her eyebrow. "Why didn't you fight back with the knife?"

"How did you know I didn't fight back with a knife?"

"Because you wouldn't have gotten this beaten up." She scowled.

"I didn't want anybody to suspect something. And I wouldn't have killed them. That means they would have gone back and told the teacher I was carrying knives. It would have been bad for you."

"Bad for me, huh?" Itachi broke the chemical ice pack and held it to the bruise on her face. After, he gently took her hand and wrapped her split knuckles. "And not bad for you?"

"I'm used to bad things. I would have gotten out of it somehow. But you're clueless. You don't know how to do these things."

"I don't?" Moving around to sit on his desk, he spun her around on her chair and undid her braid. "A French braid would be pretty, I think." Silky strands flowed through his fingers as he finger-combed her hair.

"My mommy used to tell me that girls were good at getting out of punishment, but guys faced it head on."

"Yeah?"

"…Yeah." He hadn't missed the subtle change in her voice. There was a note of defeat where there hadn't been any before, but he didn't say anything, only continued to braid her hair.

"There." Every lock was in place, and the sun danced cheerfully along the strands again. Itachi didn't turn her around, but continued to stroke her hair while sitting on the desk. "Choko, are you crying?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"There's no need to." He slowly spun her around and crouched on the ground, so that he was staring up into those sea foam eyes. When she stared evenly back at him, he looked out the window, holding her hand softly to his face, absent-mindedly stroking the elegant fingers. "You must have gone through a lot of bad things, huh?" Her shoulders came up in a shrug. There was a faint, downward curve of her mouth. Itachi stood up with a sigh.

"These glasses are fake, right?" He threw them in the garbage when she nodded. "Okay. Well, go to class and take it easy." He kissed the back of her head while she was walking out, making her pout. With gentle smile, he waved goodbye.

Something was wrong. Something was extremely, exceedingly, exceptionally wrong. Itachi checked his watch again and found that almost thirty minutes had passed since the end of school. He didn't want to go find her. Not because he didn't want to, but because he wanted her to make her own choices.

But something was wrong. The feeling just intensified when thirty minutes turned to an hour. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He gathered his things from his office, and locked the door behind him. Jogging home, he couldn't help but hope to hear her voice when he opened the door. But the apartment was silent.

He didn't understand. She had been in Level 4 Math and English. She had practiced a new piece in Violin Lesson. The incident with the violin had come and go a week ago. She had looked positively healthy and happy and vibrant the entire day.

So what had gone wrong?

Changing into jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and sandals, despite the cold weather, he went outside again, trying to think about the places she could have gone. He ran to the library, which took him five minutes, and entered.

"Hey," he said to the librarian, slightly out of breath, "have you seen a girl with blonde hair and turquoise eyes? She's about 5' 2" and she was wearing Koroki High School's uniform."

"N-no," stuttered the flustered librarian, "How o-old is she?"

"Sixteen." And as if his brain didn't know how worried he was, Itachi realized that he didn't know when her birthday was.

"W-well, I c-can go check-k the shelves…"

"It's fine. I can do it myself." For once, he didn't care when the librarian started to giggle with her friends on the phone, informing them of her latest brush with the teacher. "Choko?" he called softly, "Choko? Are you here?" Only the girls looked up at him, blushing. The boys ignored him and continued to ignore him as he searched the entire library. When it was clear that she was not reading in the aisles, he made his way outside again, and started off towards the park.

When he finished searching, the sun was just starting to dye the sky with lush orange. Itachi had checked all the places she could have possibly gone to.

"Where is she?" he murmured to himself as he entered his apartment. Sitting on the couch, he allowed himself to catch his breath for a short second before thinking again.

He didn't want to check the ring.

He really didn't.

_One more day_, he thought. _If she doesn't come back by the time school is over tomorrow, I'll check the ring._

Breakfast passed without her, and so did lunch. As much as he tried, he couldn't eat without her and resigned himself to tapping aimlessly on his desk. But when the violins ceased to play, and students started to stream out of the building, he slowly packed up, without a sound, and made his way down the first twist of the alley.

He wasn't thinking of anything when he heard a small crunch under his feet. There was a small splinter of coffee colored wood underneath his shoe. A couple inches further, there was another creamy shard, bigger this time. The trail continued, the pieces getting larger and less fractured when he finally came upon the remains of Choko's violin, her bow snapped in half next to it. He crouched over it for a couple minutes, turning a part of it over and over in his hands. Finally, he stood up, took the final turn in the alleyway, and encountered the guards again. Except this time, Kakashi was also waiting for him.

"I've been expecting you."

"Is she-"

"-here? Yes, she is." Kakashi waved the guards away. "She's here, but I don't think you should see her." Before Itachi could protest, Kakashi continued. "Some kids took her violin in a fight and broke it. If it was just girls, she probably could have handled it. But the gang she was fighting also bought their boyfriends. She managed to run away, but they shattered the violin."

"I know. I saw it." Kakashi nodded.

"She's been fighting in the ring to buy another violin. She thinks if you find out her violin was destroyed, you'll be angry."

"And I won't be angry if she disappears for a couple of days?"

"You have to remember, she was raised in a family where nobody cared if she was gone or not. Even in the carnival, if you disappeared for a few days, it was fine, as long as you came back. She thinks you wouldn't have noticed."

"What happened to her parents? Did you ever find them?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Why?"

"Do you want me to tell her your past?" Itachi winced, and shook his head. "Let's try to keep our pasts to ourselves, shall we? The ring-"

"-is eternal. It has no past and no future. It exists purely in the present." Kakashi nodded drily.

"What a good student I raised," he said and walked back into the building. Soon, there were guards standing in front of Itachi again.

He walked home quietly, and let himself into the dark house. Not bothering to turn on the lights, he sat on the couch, his legs crossed, thinking. His trip to the ring had left him desolate, even if it wasn't December 14st. He couldn't find the will to go to bed or to sleep.

It started to snow at midnight. The soft sound of snow against the windowpane filled the house and lulled him to sleep. Fingers as feathery soft as the snow opened the door and Choko crept in, flakes sparkling in her hair. Turquoise eyes searched the dark and found Itachi sleeping on the couch, arms crossed. Without a sound, Choko put down her things in her room and changed into her pajamas. Then, carefully, so she wouldn't wake him, she crept next to his warm body, nuzzling into his arms until he opened them for her.

Christmas morning dawned cold and frosty. But without an alarm clock to break the silence, the two slept on. Itachi was the first to wake up; the light was bothering him. When he saw Choko curled up next to him, he couldn't say anything for a second. When he had regained his ability to speak, he whispered a silent "thank you" and picked her up like a child. He just held her, her head on his shoulder and his arms beneath her legs. Unconsciously, she tightened her arms around his neck, murmuring sleepy words. They stayed in that position for half an hour, Itachi rocking slowly and Choko shifting slightly. Finally, he slowly walked to her white bedroom and tucked her into the bed, running a hand through her hair.

She woke to the sounds of breakfast being made in the kitchen. Gliding out of bed so she wouldn't make a sound, she peeked out the door of the bedroom and looked into the kitchen. When she saw that Itachi was by the sink, back turned, she made her way into the kitchen, reaching for the crispy triangles of toast on the table.

"Good morn-" A knife lodged itself in the wood of the table, between the space of her fingers. She jerked away her hand and leapt to the other side of the room, her back against the wall. Another knife whizzed by her ear and bit into the plaster behind her. More knives were thrown and each slid into the wall mere millimeters away from her vital points. She stood perfectly still, shaking in terror, forcing herself not to move, lest she was hit. One of them grazed her shoulder and blood pooled from the cut. At last, a punch landed right next to her head, making cracks along the wall. Itachi stood above her, shaking, not in terror, but in controlled rage, his eyes more red than black.

"**Where is my note?**" he said, his voice low and tight, the English words burning out of his mouth. "**The fucking note that let's me know where you're going. The note that I always told you to write. Where the fuck is it?**"

"I-I... the violin..."

"**Speak in complete sentences!**"

"I needed to make... money... for the violin... I broke it." His hand shot forward, and she flinched, but it was only to yank a knife out of the wall.

"**Violins. Are. Replaceable,**" he hissed through gritted teeth, jerking the knives out at every word. "**You. Are. Not.**" The knives clattered to the floor when he grabbed her shoulders and shook her, reverting back to Japanese. "Do you understand? You are not replaceable. I can't cook for a violin. I can't read to a violin. I can't talk to a violin. I can't-" But when she squirmed out of his grasp and launched herself at him, hugging tightly and trembling, he knew he had said enough.

"**Fuck,**" he sighed, blowing out a breath. Absent-mindedly, he ran his fingers through her hair and tapped along her spine with the tips of his fingers. The toaster pinged, and bread popped up, cheerily. A dog barked while Itachi smoothed down her head. "It seems like people have been leaving me without notice my entire life," he said, when she had sufficiently calmed, "They leave without warning. They leave without telling me. **So at least leave a note next time, yeah?**" She nodded, her face still buried into his chest, and then cleared her throat.

"**Yeah,**" she repeated, quietly. Then, from a hidden pocket, she pulled out something and handed them to Itachi's surprised fingers. He turned them over in his hands. They were beautiful, warm from being so close to her skin, smooth wood gilded with the overlapping patterns of butterflies and ripples. With a deft motion, he swung open one butterfly blade and snapped it closed.

"What is this?"

"**My first blades. My only blades.**"

"Why are you giving these to me?"

"**It's your Christmas present. And a promise.**" He raised her head and turquoise eyes locked with black ones, the reddish tint draining from them.

"A promise for what?"

"I won't fight again," she said, not breaking eye contact. "**I promise.**"


	6. Hey, Brother

p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Chapter 6/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""So you threw strongknivesstrong at her?!"/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Itachi was slumped at his desk with his head in his arms. A scowl had fixed itself on his face from the moment S had started to talk. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I only nicked her. I would never actually hurt her," Itachi ground out. S laughed once, shortly. His face was still twisted with anger and incredulity. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You said you loved her and didn't want her to leave and as punishment, you threw knives at her?!" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I get that you're upset-"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Itachi, you don't get anything! You could go to strongjailstrong for this! You could have seriously hurt her!"/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"At this, Itachi sat up and turned to S, glaring. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm rusty, but not that rusty. The knives go where I want them to go."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm talking about the fact that you used knives at all!" S exploded. "Oh, don't look at me like that," S hissed at Itachi's reddening eyes, "I was scared of your goddamn face the first couple of times, but you haven't killed me yet, have you?" Itachi slouched back into his desk while S whirled around and then steadily beat his forehead against the window. For a moment, the only sounds were the dull thud of S's head on glass, the gritting of his teeth, and the vibrating of a radiator that had switched on.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Your head sounds hollow."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Oh, shut up." S heaved a sigh, walking away from the window. His brow was furrowed as he wandered over to Itachi's desk, picking up a glass paperweight. "Hey, Itachi..." Here, he hesitated, and Itachi picked up the end of his sentence. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I don't need help."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""But you adopted her without a second glance. Even if you had that crazy fighting arena in common, it wasn't necessary to take her in as your own. You go psychotic if she leaves for a couple of minutes. You cuddle with her and kiss her and that's not normal guardian behavior, Itachi. You're trying to replace him. You're trying to make it up to him."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm not."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Itachi-"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm not."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You need to talk to someone about this. It's been too long. You were hurt in some profound, difficult way that I can't even begin to make sense of."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm not asking you to."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I think she's been hurt, too." Itachi considered this silently. "She stronghasstrong to be hurt, considered she puts up with your craziness as if it were normal. You treat her like she's six years old and she let's you do that. Both of you have some severe abandonment issues-"/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm trying to let her grow up again, the right way. And I don't. Maybe she does. I'll ask the school psychologist for the name of some therapists." S sighed again and squatted so that their eyes were level.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Itachi," he said gently.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Momo," Itachi replied, half-mockingly.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What happened to him was not your fault. If you try to make up for him, you're just going to hurt her."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm not going to hurt her."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It wasn't your fault."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm not going to hurt her."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You can cry, Itachi. It's okay."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm not going to hurt her."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You-" Just as Momo placed a hand on Itachi's hand, the door opened and Choko walked into the classroom.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Sensei-" She looked up sharply, sensing another person present, and froze when two sets of eyes stared back at her. "Is... am I interrupting something?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Only my fiery and passionate love for Itachi," said S as he stood up, his bones creaking, "Right, lover boy?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Did you need something, Choko?" Itachi ignored S's fake look of despair, "Did something happen?" She looked at S, unsure of whether she should speak. "Don't worry about him. What happened?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Somebody put glass in my gym shoes," she said slowly. Guilt flit across her face, just as it had last time, and Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly. "I was going to ask for your phone so I could take a picture for proof."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""And then?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""And then force the glass down the throat of whoever did it."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You can't do that!" Two confused faces looked at him. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Why not?" Choko demanded, "She hurt me, so I'll hurt her back." Itachi's face mirrored her expression and S looked helplessly back at both of them. How could someone explain that hurting was wrong to two fighters? How could someone tell them the world had not been fair to them but they had to be fair to the world? It was against their nature to endure.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""If you hurt her very badly, Itachi might be jailed for being unable to raise you right and you might be sent to a foster home. In any case, you two will certainly be separated." Choko turned her turquoise eyes to Itachi, asking him a question, and he nodded imperceptibly. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Then should I go tell the principal?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""That would be the right course of action. But I'll take care of it." With one last uneasy look at the two of them, he walked out the door and shut it carefully behind him. Itachi stood up immediately, locked the door, and pulled down the shade.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Sit down," he ordered. Choko sat, shaking, as she gingerly pulled off her shoes. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""strongOh, little girlstrong," Itachi said sadly when he saw the bottom of her right foot. The white socks were heavy with blood. He pulled out his first aid kit and cut the socks off with a pair of scissors. Only the upper part of the bottom of her foot was cut and even then, most of the lacerations weren't very deep, although they were bleeding heavily. However, there was one area where the glass had embedded itself into the flesh, almost being lost in the flood of red. /p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I never got cut in the ring." Her eyes were tearing over in pain and she clutched at his shirt. He made soothing sounds as he pulled out the glass with tweezers. "They never caught me."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""strongYou need to calm down, child.strong"/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""strongIt hurts.strong"/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""strongI know.strong"/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""How do you know?" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He answered with a swab of alcohol at the bottom of her foot and silence. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Momo will make sure to find whoever did it," he said when her foot had been completely bandaged. "And he isn't called S for nothing. Whoever did it will get a severe punishment. Can you stand?" She shook her head, but Itachi took her hands.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""strongDeep breath, Darling.strong You kept your pride intact until now. March to the principal's office for your permission slip to go home. I'll be waiting outside. Don't let them see that they've hurt you." She nodded and limped a couple of steps. /p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Itachi turned her around and kissed her on the forehead. "strongChildstrong," he breathed into her hair, eyes closed, "stronghead high/strong." A glint of knife steel echoed in her eyes as she nodded. Opening the door, she walked down the hallway as if nothing was wrong, her footsteps echoing softly./p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"-p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"But by the time she came out of the doors to the school, her face was white with pain. As soon as she saw him, she walked into his outstretched arms and sobbed as he picked her up and started towards home. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It hurts," she cried.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I know."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I didn't do anything wrong."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I know."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Bullying is wrong."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I know, child. I know."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""This isn't fair."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I know." And with one final hiccup, she quieted down. Itachi walked smoothly, with the smell of strawberry shampoo surrounding him. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I cried on your jacket."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'll get it dry-cleaned. And I have others."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It hurts."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Do you want to go to the hospital?" She shook her head and snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. "Where's your backpack?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Elizabeth said she'll keep it in her locker for me until I come back."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""So you are making friends?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Acquaintances."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Is she nice?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""She's nice to everyone."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""And you?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Not to everyone. Sensei, it hurts."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You might as well call me onii-chan now." This was a sufficient distraction from the pain, as Itachi had hoped. Choko's grip around Itachi's neck loosened and she looked at his calm profile. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Onii-chan?" she said, tasting the sweetness in her mouth.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Just like that."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Not onii-sama?" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He simply kissed her nose in response. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Onii-chan," she whispered. Her tone rose when she resumed, "Are you sure?" she warned, "If you're family, you'll never be able to get rid of me, even if I hate you or you hate me." p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Even if we weren't family, I would never want to get rid of you."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Why?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Because-" and suddenly, Itachi realized he had never had a legitimate reason for taking her in, for caring for her, for loving her to this extent. And suddenly, he understood what Momo had said and even as he did, struggled to reject what it meant. He tried to grasp the reality of this girl in his arms, and not the memory of another child he had held just like this. "You and I will be flesh and blood. I will always be there for you, even if it's only as an obstacle for you to overcome. Even if you do hate me. That's what big brothers are for."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"And he knew that it had been the eyes that had pulled him in the first place. Though different in color, he had seen, before, the same look reflected in onyx eyes at a higher height, the heat of fire locked in ice. But these eyes were the color of the ocean and the lashes that framed them were sun on water and the tears sparkled on them. She was light and he had been darkness, but he couldn't believe how similar the two were.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She cuddled back into his shoulder, her fingers tight against his neck so that she didn't cry anymore. But her voice yelped in pain when Itachi jarred her too much, and he responded with a comforting murmur. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"-p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Let's change your dressings again," he said, when he had locked the door behind him and set her down on her bed. He retrieved one of the many first aid kids stashed around the house and gently started to dress her foot again. Accidentally, she moved her foot forward, which made the bandage drag across the wound. Her leg kicked automatically, and Itachi jerked his head back to narrowly avoid the kick.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Sorry!"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It's fine." The bandage had rolled under the bed. "Let me just-"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""NO!" Choko's hand shot out and grabbed the end of Itachi's ponytail. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Ow! Choko, let go!" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""NO! DON'T LOOK UNDER MY BED!" She pushed him, and because he was off balance, he rolled away from the bed, letting her drop down to block the space under her bed. He was up almost instantly and flickered towards her in a speed that seemed inhuman, but she held her ground, grabbing his wrists and forcing him away from the dark space. Following the tide of the years of experience that pushed through his bloodstream, he twisted to the left and then to the right, almost getting past her when she tackled him to the ground. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Itachi felt his pupils constrict and his body seize in reaction, needing to kick off the danger, the body contact, the closeness that meant certain death in a fight. The only thing that stopped his hands from snapping her neck was Choko's own spasming, which Itachi felt. Her mind forced her body to be close to the threat, trying to forget the fear that swept through her and her arms locked tight around his waist.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Gradually, both hearts slowed and Choko, who was face down on Itachi's chest, felt the dull thumping. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""That was dangerous," he warned. "You, of all people, should know not to grab someone like that."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm sorry."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Are you hiding something?" Itachi asked.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It's a secret." Her voice was muffled. "It's just a secret. I'll tell you someday. You have secrets, too."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Did you hurt your foot again?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""No."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He checked his watch and started to gently smooth down Choko's golden hair. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Should we go out to eat lunch?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""No."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I don't think there's anything to eat at home."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Then, can we order a pizza?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"So they did. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Itachi no longer argued when Choko decided stubbornly to finish an entire pie herself; he knew she was fully capable of doing so. They had a pie each, her injured foot carefully propped up on a pillow.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"-p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Are you going to sleep here again?" Choko was doing a worksheet that Itachi had handed out that day.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Itachi was laying down on the wide bed, eyes closed and arms behind his head. The polished headboard shone a rich brown behind him, but other than that, the room was still a bland white. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Mm, I'm here to answer your questions on the worksheet. You should be thankful."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I don't usually have questions."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You will today." Her eyes flicked back to the worksheet and scanned quickly through it. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""A poem?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yes."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Shared to the entire class?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yes."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Onii-chan, this is heartless." The new title hung in the air, tasting the atmosphere, then settled like a cat, purring. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Choko, what does it mean to feel empowered?" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She thought briefly, as she usually did, to give the best and most accurate answer.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It means to feel brave and strong and happy. Maybe not happy. But not just brave and strong." She thought some more. "Electric. Like lightning is lapping at your veins." p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""And rich. It means to feel brave and strong electric and rich with emotion at a moment, place, or time. And it's hard to capture the feeling in words without making it overly obvious but I have faith in my students."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Even me?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"At this, he opened his eyes.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""strongEspecially you, my little girl.strong" He closed his eyes when he saw her glow of happiness. /p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I have a question."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I told you so."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""How long is it supposed to be?" His eyes snapped open again.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Shit, emthat'sem what I forgot to tell them." Right on cue, his phone pinged with what was a start to a flood of chimes all saying that Itachi had received a new email from every single student in the English classes he taught. /p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Choko's phone pinged a couple of times as well; all were students asking Itachi how long the poem should be. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I have your backpack!" Choko read the text from Elizabeth out loud. "I didn't know if it was safe in my locker, so I just took it home. But while it's here, could I borrow your biology notes? You know much a emadoreem learning about male anatomy." Here, she paused to smile. "That was sarcasm, in case it didn't translate well over text. Also, can you ask your super duper evil ani to stop giving us assignments without telling us how long they should be?" Another ping sounded as soon as she finished reading the text. "Oh!"/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I wasn't supposed to read that to you." p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Itachi suppressed laughter. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Tell her that it has to be long enough to get the idea across. I don't want a vague, two line poem but there is no size minimum or maximum. And tell her that I have a very selective memory and I will forget that she called me evil if she does well on the assignment." He focused on sending his answers to his students, apologizing for his forgetfulness and postponing the due date by one day. When his attention shifted back to Choko, he found her staring at a blank sheet of paper, tapping her pencil against her mouth. "It's just a rough draft. It doesn't have to be perfect."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I know."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Does your foot hurt?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""A little."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Do you want more painkillers?" p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She shook her head and resumed thinking. He dozed in her bed, having nothing to grade or prepare. Idly, half-asleep, he thought about having pizza again for breakfast tomorrow. He vaguely felt the lights in the room being turned off and Choko curl up against his side. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Don't you need to change?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He shook his head.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yes, you do," she said crossly. He palmed the back of her head and pulled her closer to him. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Some time later in the night, a light hand touched his face and his chest.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Is something wrong?" he asked quietly, waking up immediately. p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""No."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Nightmare?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I don't have those," she said haughtily. Then she hesitated. "I just like to know you're still here."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm always here."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""But when I sleep, I feel like I disappear." He could feel the drop in her voice. "I don't like the feeling. I don't want you to disappear, too, onii-chan."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I won't," he said. Or at least, he thought he said, because in the next moment, he was lulled to sleep by her warmth. p 


End file.
